


An Alpha's Dream

by SpaceMooz



Series: One and Only [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha Neville Longbottom, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Getting Together, M/M, Omega Harry Potter, POV Neville Longbottom, Pining, Protective Neville Longbottom, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25239943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceMooz/pseuds/SpaceMooz
Summary: Neville Longbottom isn’t what you expect of an alpha; cowardly, soft-spoken, and timid. While Harry exhibited all the traits of the perfect alpha; bold, confident, and brave. At first, Neville wanted to be like Harry, then it slowly warped into wanting to be with him. Expectations were shattered when Neville presented as an alpha and Harry as an Omega.Does Neville have what it takes to court the-boy-who-lived?
Relationships: Neville Longbottom/Harry Potter
Series: One and Only [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929955
Comments: 58
Kudos: 600





	1. A Nobody

**Author's Note:**

> I really love Neville and Harry as a ship, and there wasn't any A/B/O au's with them as the main pairing so I decided to write it. This has been floating around for a while and I've finally forced myself, to write it.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

At first it was nothing more than admiration at the start. Harry exhibited the traits of a perfect alpha and Gryffindor, despite what he himself might’ve said. Natural confidence and charm radiated off of Harry. He was a natural born leader, others basked in his presence and followed in his lead.

On the other hand, Neville was almost completely sure that was going to a beta. (A small voice in his head said omega, but he lacked the small physique and natural grace omegas were known for.) A background character that would let his more prominent classmates shine. He lacked any real qualities that would help him stand out, looks and personality wise. Harry was a good example to follow by.

And so Neville did. 

In their first year, it was hard to see Harry as anything other than the-boy-who-lived. The tale of him defeating the dark lord was told to every child as a bedtime story. Neville yearned to be as confident as Harry, he was so self assured of himself that Neville was envious. While he struggled to speak to others, Harry continued on headstrong. Even standing up to the likes of Malfoy. 

Spending time in Harry’s orbit, Neville quickly learned that Harry wasn’t perfect like how the stories painted him. Not that it bothered him, it made Harry seem more  _ human _ in his eyes. He was stubborn to a fault, and had nightmares that would wake the whole dorm. Learning that Harry had some faults, gave Neville some confidence of his own.

Neville’s eyes would always follow Harry, following his every action. Everything in itself was a lesson that Neville could learn from. Just the way Harry held himself, Neville would practice his posture in the confines of his four poster bed. 

At the start Neville wouldn’t have guessed that he would fall in love with the wizarding world’s saviour. The day Neville realized his true feelings for Harry, almost hit him as hard as a bludger to the face.

The unusual feeling of wanting to be close to Harry, was justified in his mind for practice purposes. (The more you observe, the better the outcome right?) The voice in his head that cried for Harry’s praise and approval, was something all friends felt towards each other. 

Neville was devastated, he couldn’t compare to how amazing Harry was. The most that would be known about him was how amazing his parents were, and how they had a mediocre child. Alphas would almost always go for an omega, and the male alphas that did date betas, always went for  _ female  _ ones.  He knew he wouldn’t stand a chance at the start.

\---

When Neville first met Harry, his eyes were naturally drawn to the piercing green eyes. The subtle lightning bolt scar on the boy’s forehead, gave Neville a clue on who this was. He wasn’t exactly what Neville pictured. He was small for their age, it seemed like a gust of wind would blow him away. He didn’t exactly scream dark lord vanquisher.

The boy gave Neville a small smile and introduced himself as Harry Potter, confirming what Neville thought. He offered his assistance in finding Trevor, and got his friend to come help them. After finding the toad, the boy started up a polite conversation, letting Neville learn more about him. 

He could remember himself listening with rapture to Harry’s every word. Harry never gave away too much information, and seemed to stiffen whenever Ron asked about the muggle world and his family. Harry seemed nice enough, listening to Neville’s story of how he lost Trevor. Instead of how Ron opted to stuff his face full of chocolate frogs than listen to Neville’s chatter.

Upon their arrival to Hogwarts, it was hard to pay attention to the school, when all Neville could do was watch Harry’s expression of amazement. Neville could only feel himself draw away once the sorting started. His own nerves distracted him, with the feeling of anxiety weighing heavy on his heart.

Neville was queasy, he was so sure that he wasn’t going to be sorted into the same house as Harry. He could remember vividly arguing with the Sorting Hat, when it came to his placement. The hat kept saying he was the perfect cut for Gryffindor. While Neville quietly argued back that he wanted to be in Hufflepuff, he could easily blend in with the quiet bunch, compared to the rowdy Gryffindors. 

Despite Neville’s pleas the Sorting Hat bellowed, “GRYFFINDOR!” 

A few hesitant claps were let out, the Gryffindor house confused at the placement of their newest member. Neville lowered his eyes to his shoes and shuffled over to where the house of lions sat. To the confusement of everyone, Neville included, he was a Gryffindor. 

When it was finally Harry’s turn to be sorted, the entire school was on the edge of their seats. Neville honestly didn’t have a clue on where Harry would be sorted. It seemed like that hat didn’t know either based on the amount of time that passed. 

Finally the Sorting Hat cried out, “GRYFFINDOR!” 

The entire table erupted in cheers, cheering for Harry. Neville was able to give Harry a small congratulations once he sat down, earning a small smile from the bespectacled boy. Neville’s heart raced, despite being right next to him, Neville felt like Harry was worlds away from him. 

At that moment Neville promised himself that he would admire Harry from the afar. It was only a few hours since he met Harry. He could feel himself submitting to Harry’s charm. 

\---

It was finally the start of fifth year, the time where everyone came into their inheritance. Out of their entire class, Neville was one of the first to present out of their peers. To his own and everyone else's shock, he was an alpha. 

Over summer Neville could tell that he was starting to grow into his own body. As he shot up, his weight was distributed around his body. He wasn’t the most masculine but it got rid of the chubby figure that everyone was used to. He even started growing facial hair that he kept trimmed and clean. 

Returning to the school was interesting, people openly gawked at him. Some were even confused as to who he was. Neville wasn’t used to all the attention that people were giving him, and wanted to keep his head down. Instead he trained his eyes forward determined to ignore them despite how nervous he was. He knew the change was remarkable, and didn’t want to waste the glow up he had over summer. 

With his transition into the status of an alpha, Neville only ever saw subtle changes. Girls started paying attention to him more, and classmates were less likely to doubt his opinion than before. 

But some things never changed.

“Oi, Longbottom seems that you’re an alpha?”

Neville felt himself instantly freezing recognizing that certain drawl. He took a small breath in, calming himself before turning around and addressing his assailant.

Draco Malfoy, one of the other students to present over the summer. Malfoy represented all the negative stereotypes about alphas. He flaunted his scent to the point it flooded the other students. Malfoy already thought he deserved everything, him presenting as an alpha just confirmed everything within himself. 

“Don’t think that you’ve reached a new place in the social standing. Alpha or not you’re still the useless person you were before.” Malfoy sneered. 

A few of Malfoy’s lackeys laughed at his insults. Neville felt himself wanting to bite back and shove Malfoy’s words down his throat. His inner alpha roared wanting to be let out and prove himself as the more dominant. Neville clenched his fists, alpha or not he didn’t want to let Malfoy know that his words affected him.

“Cat’s got your tongue Longbottom? I feel bad for the worthless omega that marries you for your money, can’t even defend yourself how are you going to defend them?”

Neville could feel anger taking over his body, shaking, his restraint slowly starting to dwindle. 

“I can’t image what lowly ome-”

“Quit it, Malfoy!” 

A strong voice echoed from across the hallway. The voice brought an instant calm to Neville, loosening the tension in his fists. A familiar face walked across the hall, settling right beside him. 

Harry flashed him a quick smile, and Neville could feel his face heating up. It was the first time he’d been in close contact with Harry since school started. He instantly noticed how much taller he was than Harry, he was comfortably a head taller than Harry. 

“Neville’s a way better alpha than you could ever be, he works for what he gets instead of just asking for it!” Harry glared at Malfoy. 

Malfoy sneered right back at Harry, breaking eye contact when Harry wouldn’t back down. Malfoy scoffed at them and turned to walk away. 

“Thanks Harry,” Neville gave Harry a small smile and blushed at the younger boy, feeling his hands getting clammy. 

“No problem, Neville, Malfoys just being a prat.” Harry returned the smile. “I have to get back to Ron and Hermione, I’ll see you around.” 

Harry walked back to where his two best friends were waiting for him. Neville smiled to himself and walked towards the Gryffindor tower. 

\---

Neville was jogging towards the Great Hall, he woke up late due to a paper. Rushing through the doors and taking his spot, there was a small murmur throughout the Great Hall. Taking his spot next to Seamus, Neville scanned the Gryffindor table for Harry. 

He was taken aback when he didn’t see him, just Ron and Hermione eating together. They were quiet, Hermione was quietly reading a book and Ron was suspiciously eating slower than usual. 

“Where’s Harry at?” Neville asked while piling some food onto his plate. 

“You didn’t hear?” Seamus gave him a confused look. 

Neville shook his head, putting a forkful of waffles into his mouth.

“Mate, he’s in heat. Harry is an omega.”

The calm murmur of the Great Hall was interrupted by Neville choking.


	2. Effort

_ The-Boy-Who-Lived Presents Omega?, _ Neville glared at the largely, bolded, headline from The Daily Prophet written by Rita Skeeter. The rumors were confirmed true a few weeks ago, with Harry’s absence from class for a week. The school went into utter chaos; students saying they had their suspicions from the start, some saying they were there when he went into heat, and some were even claiming that Harry wasn’t even an omega. 

Harry quickly rose to the most sought after omega of Hogwarts, or just the most desired person to date in general. Now that he was pronounced an omega, all the alphas in the school rejoiced while the omegas were left in the dust. Though there were a few omegas saying that they didn’t mind and would continue to seek him out. 

Neville was left in shock at the news. The signs were there, he just didn’t connect the dots. He knew Harry was on the smaller side, but height didn’t mean anything. Oliver Wood was a good example. He was on the shorter side, but he was well respected by his peers. Neville thought Harry would fall into that category. Now that he thought more in depthly about it, Harry always had a more petite figure.

Everyone knew of Harry’s childhood, when Rita Skeeter exposed Harry during their fourth year. The damned woman had a certain fetish for exposing Harry’s secrets. Neville didn’t know what was truth or exaggeration, but he could tell Harry didn’t have a good childhood. He would have nightmares occasionally, that left him sleep deprived the next morning. Everyone in the dorm had an unspoken agreement not to bring it up in the morning. 

What was odd was that none of The Golden Trio confirmed or denied Harry’s status. Whenever someone did ask one of the three they would refuse to answer. Neville didn’t feel like it wasn’t his place to intrude into Harry’s personal life. But the week that he was out of class, basically confirmed everyone’s suspicions. Alphas don’t spontaneously go into a rut, they're usually triggered by a nearby omega in heat. If Harry was an alpha, the omega that would’ve triggered Harry’s absence would be a part of the rumors as well. 

What was strange was that Harry lacked a scent. As soon as a person presents they have a scent that they would identify as. Alphas and omegas tended to have stronger pheromones, while beta scents weren’t as prominent. For a beta you had to be close to one to smell them. Even when you stood right next to Harry you couldn’t find a hint of anything. It was like Harry didn’t even present...

\---

Recently, whenever Neville would periodically check in with Harry, Harry would complain about all the random courting proposals he’s been getting. 

“You wouldn’t believe it Nev! Slughorn was proposing to me a list of his colleagues that were ‘interested’ in me, if I  _ wanted _ to take a gander at it.” Harry ranted passionately. 

They were resting comfortably in the Gryffindor common room. Harry was sitting cross legged on the coach with their newest potions assignment resting in his lap. While Neville was sitting across from him in the armchair, patiently listening to Harry. 

“It was bad enough with random  _ students _ asking me, now random _ adults _ are asking? Some of the people that are asked, I’ve never met them before!” 

Harry huffed crossing his arms, putting a cute pout on his face, Neville unconsciously smiled at him. It wasn’t before he realized that Harry was side eyeing him, that Neville felt himself smiling. 

“Do you think that this is funny?” Harry glared at him.

“N-no, I would never. I was just thinking about s-something funny that happened earlier.” Neville stuttered out the first excuse that came to mind. 

Harry raised his left eyebrow and gave him a crooked smile, “So as I was saying…” 

Neville felt himself go redder with Harry’s endearing smile and mentally patted himself on the back. Now that Harry was an ‘omega’ he felt like that there was a  _ chance _ for them to be an item. Any time that Harry was near, Neville would tense up and stutter his words out as if he were a first year. 

Harry didn’t seem to notice, due to their limited interactions. Neville could only have one on one time with Harry, once every blue moon. Ron and Hermione seemed to stick to Harry like glue. One or both of them were by his side at all times. 

Today was different; Dean and Seamus were out playing Exploding Snap with Ron and Hermione seemed more interested in studying than hanging out. The two small coincidences of both Ron and Hermione being busy, made the rare occurrence of Harry being alone. 

If Neville was honest, he should be writing the potions essay, that Harry seemed to be determinedly ignoring. But days like these were a rarity. Harry giving him his full attention and Neville was currently basking in it. Neville seemed to flourish and dwindle under the pressure of Harry’s gaze. He loved the attention that Harry gave him. But a small voice in the back of his head would tell him that Harry would rather spend his time with someone else.

“They don’t know me but they want to date me?” Harry pointed out.

Harry’s statement shook Neviller right out of his daydream. Neville glanced at Harry, and Harry was looking back right at him. It seemed like he was waiting for an answer.

“That is… Wierd. Arranged marriage is normal for purebloods, but asking to court someone without a pre-established relationship is indeed strange. ” 

Neville definitely wanted to offer to court Harry, but felt like it would be a hindrance to Harry. Harry was telling him all about the people that didn’t know him, that wanted to date him. Did Neville really know who Harry was? He didn’t even know for sure if Harry was omega or not. 

_ “Neville’s a way better alpha than you could ever be, he works for what he gets instead of just asking for it!”  _ Harry’s previous words echoed in his head. 

He  _ worked _ for things. 

Neville suddenly had a revelation, if Harry thought he was a hard worker, then he  _ would _ work. He was going to be a proper Gryffindor for once, and try to do something out of his comfort zone. He wanted to solve his first insecurity of not knowing who Harry was and properly get to know him. Instead of using the second hand information about him that’s always floating around school.

“He’s a eighth year for Merlin’s sake shouldn’t he have more co-” 

“Um, Harry?” Neville quietly asked. 

Harry stopped himself mid sentence, when he realized that Neville was asking him something. 

“Yeah, what’s up?” Harry titled his head to the side. 

“I-I’ve been struggling with some of the spellwork in DADA? Do you think you could tutor me with some of it?” Neville was looking down at his lap, twiddling his thumbs. 

“Of course, we can do it Saturday evenings, I usually save Sunday to do all my work.” Harry laughed brushing his hand through his hair.

Neville nodded, smiling to mostly himself. 

\---

“You need to flick your wand at the end of the spell for it to work properly.” Harry shifted closer to Neville taking his wrist into his hand, properly tracing the spell into the air. 

Neville stiffened under the contact, and tried to concentrate on what Harry was saying. It was a Saturday evening and just as Harry promised he was helping Neville. He wished he had asked Harry to tutor him earlier. One act of bravery and now he got to reap his reward.

Harry would help him understand concepts of spells and how to execute them. Neville couldn’t tell which part was his favorite. They would often have in depth conversations about how the spell worked, which would sometimes lead to them conversing about things outside of DADA. Neville got to learn more about Harry and sometimes Neville would be clutching his sides gasping for air. 

When Harry helped him with execution, he would more often than not take Neville's wrist into his own to show him, like now. Neville often had to bite the inside of his cheek, to keep himself from smiling like a dope. 

Harry is just like how Neville thought he was, charismatic, funny, and understanding. He got to learn the more minute details about him. How Harry was still learning about the wizarding world and would sometimes use muggle phrases that Neville never heard of. The way his eyes crinkled when he laughed. Things just kept stacking up, endearing Neville further with Harry.

Moments when he was up close with Harry, he wondered about his status. He would unconsciously try to smell for Harry’s scent. Neville would instantly stop once he realized what he was doing. It seemed like he wasn’t quick enough today, since Harry stepped back and glanced at him.

“Are you wondering about my status?” Harry drawled. 

Neville cautiously bit his lip and looked down at the ground, “Kind of, people are starting to speculate that you’re an alpha, but you smell of neither alpha or omega.”

Harry laughed, warming up Neville’s insides. “They’re wrong, I’m an omega.”

Neville’s jaw dropped and his eyes bulged out slightly. The act made Harry’s smile widen. 

“R-really then why… What?”

Neville knew he must’ve looked ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to pull himself over after the bombshell drop of information Harry gave him. 

“I’m taking some potions to help regulate my heats. One of the side effects is that my scent can get a bit overbearing, so I’m wearing a scent blocker to stop it.”

“That makes sense…” Neville quietly replied.

“I just haven’t come out yet, since I don’t want it to be common knowledge that I’m on heat regulating potions. People will probably just catch on once I stop putting on scent blockers.” 

Neville just stared at Harry, not knowing what to say back. ‘Congratulations on being an omega?’ 

“I don’t mind you knowing though.”

Neville grinned at Harry, “Thanks, that means a lot.”

\---

Neville’s eyes shot open at an instant, his entire body covered in a cold sweat. The air was pungent with an intensely sweet smell of vanilla. Neville caught himself before he entered a trance, all he wanted to was sit and enjoy the sweet smell. He shoved his hands into his hair, thoroughly messing it up, properly waking himself up.

Now that he was wide awake, he heard groaning accompanied by hushed whispers. Neville strained his ears, trying to grasp on to what was being said. 

“Come on let’s get you to Madam Pomfrey’s office before anyone wakes up.” The hushed voice said.

“It hurts, Ron.” The second voice whimpered.

“I know Harry, let’s be quick.”

_ Harry? _

Neville felt his body going into autopilot, sitting up in his bed, and pushing the curtains apart. Harry was on the floor grasping at Ron’s curtains, with Ron trying to help his friend onto his feet. The vanilla scent was even stronger when he stepped out of his curtains. 

“Neville? What’re you doing?” Ron raised his voice slightly.

Neville kept his eyes trained on Harry, he seemed to be in intense pain. His eyes were glued shut and his brows were furrowed. The only thing he seemed to be concentrating on was clutching onto the curtains for dear life. All Neville wanted to do was walk over and brush Harry’s hair out of his face, and kiss him until the pain went away. 

Neville took a step forward and Ron stood protectively in front of Harry. Neville unintentionally let out a low rumble, Ron’s eyes widened and his hand itched towards his wand.

He smelt his own pheromones before he realized he was releasing them. Ron had yet to present, and he only flinched slightly. Releasing his scent had the unintentional effect of it affecting Harry, with the boy letting out a whimper when the bitter scent started overpowering the vanilla.

Both Dean and Seamus’s curtains burst open, with their eyes both widening in shock. The sudden snap of the curtain awoke Neville from his stupor and he took a step back. Ron squinted his eyes at him. 

“Seamus do you mind helping me get Harry to the nurses?” Ron asked while glaring at Neville.

“Yeah, I don’t mind...”

Ron all but manhandled Harry, carrying him out of the room. Neville sat back down on his bed, scrubbing at his face with his hands trying to grasp the situation. He heard Dean get up and open all of the bedroom windows, letting in a cold breeze. The mixed scent of sweet vanilla and tangy orange drifty out. 

“No offense mate, but the scent mixed in with the smell of Harry’s heat is messing with my head.” With that Dean went back to bed closing his curtains. 

_ Heat? Harry? _

Neville groaned realizing his mistake. Remembering Harry’s intoxicating scent made Neville’s mouth water slightly. Neville closed the curtains to his bed and nestled into his bedsheets.

He tossed and turned, not being able to take his mind off of Harry, his scent, and what he could be doing right now. He was wide awake from the previous encounter. Neville reached for his bedside table and grabbed his wand, casting a quiet,  _ Silencio. _

\---

By the time morning came Neville was still a mess. Even with the temporary help of last night’s  _ solution, _ Neville’s dream was plagued by Harry’s scent. The dream was light and airy, with the vanilla scent constantly lingering in the background. 

Neville quietly opened up his curtains, both Ron and Seamus’s curtains were closed with Harry’s left open. Neville frowned at the thought of his actions last night. He got up quietly, and set about getting ready for class. 

As expected Harry missed class for the rest of the week. Malfoy was speculating and telling tales of what Harry could be; an omega, an alpha with a secret omega lover, that he fakes heat for attention. 

Neville often found himself wanting to snap at Malfoy, but before he had a chance Ron would stand up for Harry. It was like that for everyone that did ask about Harry. Often with it ending with Ron yelling at the random student for intruding for Harry’s privacy.

It even got to the point that some students were coming to him, for what was happening. People started targeting all of the dorm mates, trying to find what rumors were true or not. Ron made sure that none of them disclosed Harry’s information, and all of them complied. 

During that point Neville made sure that he apologized to Ron. Ron told him that it wasn’t his apology to accept since he wasn’t affected by it. And Neville agreed wholeheartedly and said he would apologize to Harry once he got the chance. 

By next Tuesday, Harry was back at class. Neville instantly apologized to Harry the first chance he had. 

“It’s okay Neville, you didn’t even do anything in the first place.”

“But that doesn’t make it right in the first place!” Neville exclaimed.

“I know you’re an alpha and you did pretty well for being thrust into a confined room with an omega in heat. All you did was growl and release some pheromones, that’s the best reaction you could’ve had. ” 

Neville blushed at the statement. 

“I have to admit, I wanted to jump your bones the moment I saw you. You even had a better reaction than me.”Harry laughed.

Neville's entire face went red, up to his ears. The next class he had, he could hardly concentrate.

\---

After their small conversation, there seemed to be a small change in Harry. Neville didn’t want to be full of himself but it felt like Harry was starting to seek him out. During class, the dining hall, and all of their tutoring sessions, the amount of casual touches increased.

It was passive enough that neither Ron or Hermione said anything about it. At the start, Neville thought he was just internalizing their interactions too much. It was subtle enough that Neville didn’t almost didn’t notice it himself. Harry at times sat close enough that their shoulders would bump. He would brush his hand against Neville’s arm to grab his attention. The interactions left Neville flustered and weak in the knees.

With all of their close interactions, gradually over time Neville could start smelling some of Harry’s scent. If you got close enough to Harry’s nape, you could get a small hint of vanilla. Neville was daydreaming while walking over to the green houses, thinking about Harry’s scent. 

“Can you imagine it The-Boy-Who-Lived is an omega?” A voice sneered breaking Neville out of his trance. 

“Fuck off Malfoy.” Harry’s voice rang out through the halls.

Neville stopped in his tracks and looked behind his shoulder. Malfoy and a group of his lackeys were surrounding Harry. 

“Do you not know manners Potter? That’s not how omegas are supposed to speak to alphas.” Malfoy venomously spit out. 

Harry’s breath hitched, and Neville’s eyes flared open. A sour scent of lemon made Neville’s face instantly scrunch up. Neville knew at an instant that it was Malfoy’s from how much he flaunted his scent. 

Neville balled up his fists trying to ground himself from the overwhelming smell. Glancing up, Harry was faring much worse. His knees were shaking and he was struggling to breathe. Despite all those conditions, Harry was still glaring right at Malfoy.

What should I do? Was the first thought that came into Neville’s mind. He was never one for confrontation, in fact he usually backed down in order to avoid it. But Harry needed help, and Harry always stood up for him.

In the midst of his internal struggle, one of Malfoy’s faceless lackeys reached out to grab Harry.

_ Neville instantly saw red. _

His hand instantly went for his wand chanting a quick, “ _ Impedimenta.”  _ The boy instantly froze in place, with the rest of their heads snapping towards Neville in shock. Neville quickly ran towards Harry, roughly shoving into the semi circle that they were cornering him with.

Neville stood in front of Harry using his larger frame to hide Harry. Neville snarled at the group of Slytherins, baring his teeth. The Slytherins flinched, some even took a step back. 

“L-longbottom what’re you doing.” Malfoy stuttered. 

Neville almost rolled his eyes, he was tired of Malfoy’s hearing the usually condescending voice. A small tug on his robes, made him turn his head back. Harry was clinging onto his robe using Neville's back as some sort of shield from the other boys. Neville’s face softened, he had to get Harry out of here. 

Neville turned around, grabbed Harry’s right wrist and made a move to leave.

Malfoy coughed and cleared his voice, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Neville let out a low grumble, and the Slytherins at an instant cleared a path for the duo. Neville briskly walked out with Harry, and gunned it for the Gryffindor tower. 

The walk to the tower was quiet, neither Neville or Harry saying anything. Other students eyed them up when they saw Neville guiding Harry. Neville internally grumbled, there would most likely be rumors about them in the near future, given their history and dynamic. Not that it wouldn’t be nice that people speculated that they were a couple...

Once they made it to the tower, Neville mumbled the password to The Fat Lady. She swung open not saying a word to them. Neville made a b line towards the dorms with Harry in tow. 

When Neville opened the door to their dorms, no one was inside. He let out a deep sigh releasing all the tension that he was holding before. He walked towards his bed and sat down, Harry standing over him. Neville let go of Harry’s wrist, almost forgetting that he was even holding it in the first place. 

“Sorry about that, Harry.” 

Harry quirked a smile at him and sat down on his bed right beside him. 

“Thanks Neville.”

Neville smiled, intentionally let his knee touch Harry’s. 

“I know you would do the same, I’m just glad I was able to help for once.”

Harry gave him a puzzled look, “What do you mean?”

“That’s the first time I’ve been a proper Gryffindor and stood up to Malfoy.” 

Harry let a small sigh and rested his head against Neville’s head, “You’re just as Gryffindor as anybody else, there’s not a rulebook that says you have to act or be a certain way to be one. You just doubt yourself too much Nev.”

“I could never be as brave as you though.” Neville’s grin widened, revealing in Harry’s warmth. Harry’s vanilla scent was comforting, bringing Neville to an easy calm. 

“I’m scared all the time, being The-Boy-Who-Lived, people 's eyes are constantly on me. I’m afraid that I’ll do something wrong, and be mocked for it the rest of my life. I feel like I can’t grow since I’m not allowed to make mistakes.” Harry murmured. 

Neville paused,  _ Harry’s scared too? _

“People can be shallow, they should know that you’re more than just a title.”

Harry let out a boisterous laugh, vibrating against Neville's shoulder, “I wish the people that want to court me were more like you.” 

Neville let out an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head. Maybe he  _ did _ have a chance, the thought that Harry was considering him an option was mind blowing. 

Harry took his head off of Neville’s arm, Neville instantly missing the contact. Harry stood up and gave him a small smirk much to his confusion. Harry gently grabbed his chin, leaned in and planted a kiss against his cheek.

Neville spluttered, and launched himself backwards, almost falling off of his bed. Neville was staring at the roof, when the sound of Harry’s laugh rang out, followed by the sound of a door clicking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support :D it made me want to push out the chapter faster!
> 
> If there's any grammatical/spelling errors, tell me in the comments and I'll correct them.


	3. Escalation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neville finally takes a chance to take a big step forward.

Neville chewed on his lip in concern debating his next move. He wanted to make the first step and take Harry to Hogsmeade, to propose the idea of them dating. But there was still that petty voice in his head, that told him that he wasn’t good enough for Harry. Harry seemed happy with him, but there could  _ always _ be someone better. And Neville wanted to prove that he  _ was _ the best, at least for Harry. 

Harry’s voice echoed in his head, reciting the small words of encouragement he gave Neville overtime. He started at step one, by making eye contact with people. When he was younger he made it a habit of avoiding eye contact. It made him anxious and his heart heavy, wondering if the person was bad-mouthing him in their mind.

It started slowly, holding eye contact in small increments of time, prolonging it with each conversation that he had. Neville was amazed when he noticed he was more engaged in the conversation, instead of wallowing in his own self deprecating monologue in his head. 

Followed by this Neville decided to brush up again with all his study material with Hermione. Besides Herbology and his rising grade in DADA, Neville barely made it to acceptable in his other classes on his report card. He borrowed some of Hermione’s old books, copying the notes into his copy. He found himself asking more questions in his classes, even if he felt it was a stupid question to ask if he was confused someone else might be puzzled as well.

Besides working on his confidence and smarts, Neville put himself on a small diet. He was always a little self-conscious about his weight ever since Parkinson viciously started bullying him in their first year. It was less for Harry and more for his own sake. He knew Harry could care less about his weight. If you look good, you feel good, and Neville was living by that. 

Neville could feel the fruit of his labor coming into fruition. He doubted himself less; he was able to start conversations and hold them with people outside of his comfort zone, he was more competent in class, and most importantly he started to feel good in his own body.

Even some of his classmates were starting to notice his change. He caught Hannah Abbott staring at him during their shared classes and in the halls. The beta girl eventually asked him out a few weeks later. Neville respectfully declined, he had his heart set out on only one person. 

Neville initiated precautionary steps to further his relationship with Harry. He took to publicly hanging out with Harry more. Rather than just keeping their interactions limited to their tutoring sessions. Neville enjoyed having Harry’s attention, and let himself enjoy it without having to feel guilty. 

On any occasion that the two of them were together, Neville repeatedly found himself happier than he could ever be. Harry would joke around, throw the occasional snippy comment about Malfoy, and Neville genuinely loved the time that they spent together. 

Any original thoughts that Neville might be wasting Harry’s time vanished. 

\---

Neville felt like it was finally the right time to ask Harry out. The lingering fear of Harry’s rejection was perpetually present. Back then he was a different person, he would regularly second guess himself. He assumed that every other person's opinion was more valid than his own. Now he finally felt comfortable in his own skin. 

He wanted to spend all his time with Harry, further their relationship than what the bounds of friendship allowed. If Harry rejected him then he would stay as close to him as possible. Neville solely wanted to make Harry happy, but if someone else provided that, then he would move on. 

It was their last class of the day. Harry was doodling mindlessly, while McGonagall droned on about various concepts of transfiguration. Neville clutched his quill and took the parchment he was supposed to be taking notes on and scribbled on a small note.

_ Stay after class with me? _

He pushed the parchment towards Harry, catching his attention. Harry glanced up towards Neville and locked eyes with him. Neville felt frigid under Harry’s penetrating gaze. His lush glittering, eyes enrapturing Neville. 

Harry nodded giving a small smile, turning back to focus on his doodle. A small wave of panic rushed through Neville. He couldn’t pay attention to class, and chose to focus on his thundering heart. 

“Can we talk outside?” 

Harry nodded and they walked through the large doors together. The last thing Neville wanted to do is ask Harry on a sort of date in front of their Professor. He guided Harry towards an unoccupied corridor.

“I wanted to know if you were going to Hogsmeade this weekend.” Neville stuttered, internally cursing at how meek his voice sounded. 

“Yeah, why what’s up? Did you want to move our tutoring lessons to Saturday?” 

“No, I wanted to know if... You wanted to go with me.” Neville quickly spit out.

“Sure, sounds like fun.” Harry hummed.

Harry smiled, quickly erasing all of Neville’s nerves away. Now all Neville had to do was wait till the end of the week. 

\---

Neville silently, endured the scene before him. He took in a deep breath of air, trying to ground himself and not give into instinct. An older Ravenclaw beta was blatantly ogling Harry in front of him. 

His inner alpha was bellowing at him to do something. To shove the Ravenclaw aside and whisk Harry as far away as possible. He felt himself letting a deep rumble out, clenching his fists, his nails burrowing into his palm.

As an alpha, Neville was never that territorial. He never felt the profound urgency to claim something or  _ someone _ . He never gave it much thought up until recently. He wanted to shout from the rooftops and proclaim his feelings to Harry for everyone to hear. 

Before Neville’s transformation, Harry felt like an unachievable goal. A prize that would always be out of reach. For once it seemed like he was within an arm’s reach, he just had to make it to the end of the week. 

It seemed like a simple goal in hindsight, but it was only Tuesday and Neville was already struggling. Neville, himself knew that Harry wasn’t his mate  _ yet _ . However his inner alpha clawed and roared whenever Harry was near. 

The jealousy was the worst, it was almost unbearable at times. It made Neville moody and irritable, he was almost as bad as Malfoy in some cases. A boy was leaning a little close to Harry during their double potions class, annoying Neville to the point, he had snapped at his partner. 

The only benefit to Neville’s outbursts, was that Harry would always find the time to calm him down. Whenever Neville got a little too territorial, Harry would squeeze his forearm and release his pleasing vanilla scent. Neville’s nostrils would flare, drinking in the rich scent. Bringing him to an immediate tranquil calm. 

Neville’s heightened aggressiveness around Harry had the unintentional benefit of frightening away potential suitors. He would regularly send death glares towards people over Harry’s head. Leaving the poor omega confused when people would scamper away from him. 

Harry seemed none the wiser to Neville’s advancements on their classmates. The absence of Harry's consistent pursitors, appeared to take some invisible weight off the omega’s shoulders. 

Neville grumbled to himself, pulling himself back in. Only a few more days, he thought, repeating the phrase trying to ease his impatience. The end goal was so close in sight, Neville could almost reach out and grab it. 

That is if I survive, Neville cursed, glaring daggers at Parvati when she got a bit too close to Harry to his own liking.

\---  


Neville stared restlessly at the mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair, styling it for the upteenth time. His clothes fit to a tee on his body, accentuating his biceps, that he wanted Harry to notice.

He had gotten advice from Hermione and Ginny, understanding that they would give the most useful tips out of all of his friends. They gave him ideas on where to go, what to wear, and activities that would be fun for the two of them.

Neville gave himself a last look over, and rushed to meet Harry in the common room. His heartbeat quickened when he saw Harry relaxing on the loveseat with Ginny. 

He settled his hand on Harry's shoulder and beamed, “You ready to go?”

Harry returned the grin and nodded, giving Ginny a farewell. She told the both of them to have fun and smirked at Neville, mouthing good luck to him. Neville blushed, walking away with Harry.

They made their way to The Three Broomsticks. Securing a spot in the back a more quiet, secluded part of the shop. Neville paid for their Butter Beers, and Harry graciously accepted his offer.

Harry started bantering on various topics, Neville trying his best to participate in the essentially one sided conversation. He had never been more nervous in his life, he was almost physically sick. He had the butterflies, but it was as if they were all thrashing around trying to get out. 

Come on just get on with it, Neville thought. The sooner you tell him, the sooner you’ll feel better.

Mustering every bit of his courage, he took a deep breath in and calmly let it out, “Harry, I wanted to ask you something.” He took a sip of his Butterbeer, to take some of the edge off. 

“Yeah? What do you want to talk about?” Harry gazed at him with his doe eyes.

“I-I like you, like a lot.” Neville murmured. 

“I like you too Neville.” Harry replied promptly.

Neville’s heart fluttered, giving him the courage to continue, “I like you m-more than a friend. I-I have for a while, since first year.”

Harry’s look of astonishment, didn’t immediately scream that Neville was going to get rejected. It was 100% better than the usual look of annoyance that Harry had when people asked him out. 

“I wanted to know if you would like to be with me... Like romantically.” 

Neville turned his attention to his Butterbeer, watching the droplets run down the glass. Harry’s silence was making Neville’s go crazy.

“Neville, I don’t know what to say.” Harry smiled sheepishly, fidgeting with the coaster under his drink. 

Neville smiled dejectedly, assuming Harry’s rejection, “I just wan-”

“I mean I don’t mind giving us a go,” Harry interrupted, his voice growing more assured. “It’s going to be my first time ever dating someone, so I don’t know how to do coupley things…” 

Neville’s jaw dropped and he openly gaped at Harry.

He almost wanted to ask Harry to repeat what he had just said. Harry wanted to date him? Was he hearing him right? Harry started squirming in his seat, looking quite nervous, due to Neville’s silence. He gazed at Neville with an endearing flush, awaiting for his response.

Neville surged forward embracing Harry in grasp, almost crushing the omega. Neville let out a loud boisterous laugh that garnered the attention of the many people within the shop. He carelessly nuzzled Harry’s hair, letting out a contempt sigh. He peered over Harry’s head and finally noticed how many people were watching him. 

He reluctantly let Harry out his embrace, letting out an awkward chuckle. Harry looked around, seeing all the people that Neville just embraced him in front of. He looked at Neville then back at the crowd. An amused smirk settled onto Harry’s lips.

In a moment’s notice, Harry yanked on Neville’s tie, forcing the alpha to be at eye level with the omega. Harry cupped Neville’s cheeks and smashed their lips together.

The crowd erupted in astonished cries and gasps . 

\---  


Neville ate his breakfast and casually eyed up the newest release of The Daily Prophet.  _ The Newest It Couple? Read for more at page 5. _ The news of Harry and Neville’s escapades spread like wildfire. By the time they made it back to the castle, housemates were interrogating them asking if the rumors were true.

The Daily Prophet was having a grand time, releasing daily news on the couple. The day after their Hogsmeade trip, Harry and Neville’s faces were plastered all over the prophet. From them first leaving the castle, to their now infamous kiss. 

The overzealous articles featured their supposed love story. How they were both misunderstood orphans, that bonded over their parent’s deaths together. That Neville came into his alpha inheritance to protect Harry from the still loyal death eaters. And that Harry suddenly presented as an omega now that he felt safe under Neville’s care.

It was a crock of shite, if Neville had any say in it. Harry seemed more than amused, often laughing at the articles with Ron. Neville grumbled, taking a large bite out of his bacon and turning to focus onto Harry. Harry beamed at him, joking that Neville should come and save him from a dragon on their next adventure. 

Neville hopelessly grinned at Harry, looking like a dope. He was quite enjoying the current honeymoon phase of their relationship. At first, Neville thought it was going to be quite the task transitioning from friends to lovers. But it couldn’t have been more smoother. 

The things that they did as friends, now had the added benefits of hand holding and chaste kisses. Overall the amount of time he spent with Harry doubled. He now oftenly tagged around with Harry when he was hanging out with Ron and Hermione. 

Their DADA lessons now consisted of more flirting than actual learning, not that Neville minded the changes. When they studied the textbook together, Harry would often snuggle up, resting his head on Neville’s shoulders. Neville couldn’t keep track of how many times he stopped paying attention and just revealed the sensation.

Nevertheless, things were all smooth sailing. Virtually everyone stopped asking Harry out, respecting Neville’s position as Harry’s boyfriend. Though there was still that minority that still thought that they had a chance with Harry. A few too over the confident Gryffindors and some Slytherins that thought they could sneak Harry out of Neville’s peripheral.

One of those people happened to be Draco Malfoy. 

“Potter, out of all the people you had to choose Longbottom?” Malfoy sneered, stopping Harry and Neville in the hallway. 

Neville squeezed gently onto Harry’s hand, his good mood instantly falling. Harry squeezed back, his face contouring in anger.

“If you wanted a  _ real _ alpha you should’ve just asked.” Draco smirked. 

“Shut it Malfoy!” Harry snapped back. 

Neville grit his teeth, and tried counting backwards to calm himself down. He was never a big fan of completely losing himself to his own emotions. 

“You’ll just spread your legs for any-”

Neville snapped, loosening his grip from Harry and lurching forward at Draco. He caught the blonde by surprise, and drew his fist back, hitting Malfoy square in the face. A crunch resonated through the mostly empty hall. Malfoy cried in pain clutching at his face. 

Crabbe and Goyle immediately drew their wands aiming at Neville. Neville snarls at the two body guards moving to shield Harry, who had his own wand drawn. Harry clutched at his robes, whispering that he was fine, leaning onto Neville.

“What is going on?” McGonagall stepped out from one of the classrooms.

Everyone withdrew their wands, Neville’s anger somewhat simmering down in her presence. Malfoy was immediately released to see Madam Pomfrey, leaving the rest of them to explain the situation. Harry did most of the talking, Neville only quietly glaring at Crabbe and Goyle as he spoke. 

Both Gryffindor and Slytherin lost house points. The latter losing double more than what the former lost. Crabbe and Goyle were sent to tell Malfoy that he had Saturday detention with McGonagall, on proper etiquette on how to speak with omegas. Neville was left with a warning to settle his fights with his words rather than his fits. 

Nowadays Malfoy evaded Harry whenever Neville was near. Only choosing to pick on Harry the rare amounts of times when Neville wasn’t by Harry’s side. 

Other than that small incident, Neville was happily going about his days. Malfoy’s words struck a chord in Neville. Now he tended to scent Harry before they left for class. If the articles weren’t enough to prove that Harry was his, he would do it through smell as well. 

Harry complained at the start, grumbling when Neville would rub his cheeks over his scent gland. At the end Neville would plant a soft kiss on the scent gland, making Harry’s entire body shutter. Harry eventually gave in letting Neville do his thing in the morning. Hermione once commented that Harry often smelled like Neville than himself. 

\---  


Neville wiped the sweat off his forehead, he was helping Professor Sprout out in one of the green houses for extra credit. Instead of using his wand, he preferred using manual labor, it helped shape his now buff physique. 

Neville was potting some Devil’s Snare, when Ron busted into the greenhouse. The ginger beta was unusually pale, and was out of breath from running. 

Ron met his gaze and muttered one word, “Harry.”

The hairs on the back of Neville’s head stood up, he set the plant down and yelled at Sprout that he had an emergency. Neville sprinted towards Madam Pomfrey’s office, with Ron closely tailing behind him. 

Neville rushed into the room immediately spotting Harry sleeping in a bed, with a tear ridden Hermione holding his hand. Neville walked towards them, smelling Hermione’s familiar scent of books, but the sweet smell of vanilla was nowhere to be found. Instead there was an unrecognizable scent emitting from Harry’s direction. 

Madam Pomfrey peaked her head out from the corner. She grabbed two seats and set them down directly near Hermione. She told them both to take a seat. She explained that a Hufflepuff prefect stumbled across Harry getting ganged up by a group of Slytherin alphas. The perfect ran to get a teacher, and by the time they came back, Harry had been marked. 

Neville’s heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach. 

She explained that Harry was fine, and he had only marked, no other damage was done. She vowed to them that the staff would find the students responsible, and punish them to the fullest extent. Marking an unclaimed omega would not be taken lightly. Hermione only sobbed louder, Ron sullenly looking down at his best friend. 

Neville’s breath hitched, dejectedly staring at Harry’s unconscious body. Madam Pomfrey excused herself to tend to the other students waiting for her. Harry looked quite pale compared to his usual complexion. The only reassurance Neville had was that Harry’s chest was rising and falling.

The three of them continued to watch over Harry in silence. Hermione quietly cried, only letting a few hiccups escape her lips. Ron had his arms crossed around his chest, it seemed as if he was debating finding Harry’s assailants or staying by Harry’s side. Neville absently stared at Harry, not knowing what sort of emotion he was supposed to be feeling.

After a while Ron and Hermione left for dinner, Neville politely declined them, and said that he would like to stay by Harry’s side. He grabbed Harry’s had, rubbing the pads of his finger over his wrists. 

In his absence Harry had been marked by another alpha. 

Marks in themself had to be refreshed every half year, or they would start to slowly fade with time. A marked omega would produce less pheromones, since a claim mark signifies that they were taken. They would also refuse to spend their heat with anybody but the person who marked them. 

Neville doubted that Harry would suddenly start courting the alpha that forced the mark upon him. That meant that no matter what, even if Harry wanted help with his heats, he would be forced to go through them alone.

With no one here to watch him, Neville finally let the tears slip. He started sniffling and clutched onto Harry’s hand. He was riddled for guilt, if he was a decent alpha at all, he should’ve been there to protect Harry. 

Harry’s eyes fluttered open and he let out a small groan. With Harry alerting him with his presence he started crying harder. His tears streaming down his face, and plopping onto Harry’s bed.

“Why are you crying Nev?” Harry croaked out.

Neville’s vision blurred as more tears started spilling out. Harry sat up in the bed, groaning when he used his abused muscles. 

“I-I’m so, so sorry H-Harry.” Neville sniffled, trying to find his voice through all his tears. “I s-should’ve been there.”

Harry gave him a tired smile, “I don’t expect you to be with me 24/7 Nev, I know you have your own life.”

“But still…” 

“Nev, I know that you’re not some super human, that has a fifth sense that tells you whenever I’m in danger. I would never hold something like this against you.”

Neville sombered up with Harry’s words, the tears still flowing down. He cupped Harry’s face and tried to give him his best smile. Neville gasped when Harry started crying.

“Um, I just wanted to know if you still wanted to be with me…” 

Neville froze in place, why would he ever want to leave Harry in the first place? Neville wiped away some of Harry's tears, and pressed their foreheads together.

“Of course I do, what would make you think that I wanted to leave you?”

“One of the alphas said that you wouldn’t want me anymore.” Harry paused, taking a breath to recompose himself. “That I was damaged…”

Neville brushed Harry’s hair to the side, messing up his already wild bedhead. He planted a tender kiss on the famous lightning bolt scar. Harry’s sobs increased, burying his head in Neville’s chest. Neville slung his arms around the omega, rubbing calming circles on his back. 

They stood like that for a moment, tenderly holding each other, letting their tears fall freely. Harry let go of Neville, scooting to the side, and opening up his blankets. He gestured for Neville to come in.

“There’s no space Harry.” 

“Does that matter?” 

Neville smiled, wiping his tears on his robe sleeves. He stood up, and took off his robe, placed it on his chair, and squeezed into the small infirmary room bed. Harry was practically laying on top of Neville, more than he was on the bed. 

Neville nuzzled his head into Harry’s neck, insticlevely trying to search for Harry’s scent. He frowned when he instead greeted with the scent of spearmint. He ignored his internal dread and let himself be lulled to sleep by the sound of Harry’s soft snoring.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter took so long! I had some major author's block trying to write the chapter.
> 
> If there's any grammatical/spelling errors, tell me in the comments and I'll correct them.


	4. The Strive Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neville and Harry learn together how to overcome the incident.

The calming reassurances of Madam Pomfrey’s words echoed throughout Neville’s head, “The mark will fade but it’ll take time, Potter is the one most affected by this so make sure that you take care of him, Longbottom.” She gave him a weary smile and walked away to tend to Harry. Neville clenched his fists, swearing that he would support Harry anyway that he could. 

As with anything encompassing Harry Potter, knowledge about the incident came swiftly. The majority of students were in support of Harry, wanting the students responsible to pay for their actions. There was always the small minority of students that relished in Harry’s downfall, though they were far fewer in numbers. 

With the disturbance of a group of alphas ganging up and marking an omega, security increased around the castle. The ramifications for students wandering out past hours were heightened. Dumbledore also increased the number of teachers and prefects wandering the halls, so that it made it hard for anyone to slip by. 

Harry seemed to both welcome and discourage the concept of it being harder to wander around past curfew. He didn’t want what happened to him to happen to anyone else. But he told Neville that it felt stuffy being constantly surveilled. Though Neville couldn ’t say anything in response, since he was part of the problem. 

One unintended consequence that Neville didn’t expect was that almost all of the students stopped outright courting Harry. Whether it was out of respect for Harry’s situation, Neville rejoiced in the fact. He didn’t have to compete with the whole school anymore to keep Harry by his side. But Harry seemed somewhat drafted by the aftereffect. Neville bit his lip in worry and asked why. 

“I’m marked and suddenly no one wants me? I don’t know, I just kind of feel like it makes me worthless now.” Harry dropped his head onto Neville’s shoulder. 

Neville wrapped his arms around Harry’s petite figure and buried his face in his hair, “They’re just respecting your space, give it some time and they’ll be crawling all over you again.”

Harry let out an amused puff and buried his face into Neville’s chest.

“Do you still want to stay with me?”

Neville halted and rose his head up trying to find Harry’s eyes. Harry only nuzzled into his chest further. 

“Do you still want to stay with me?” Harry mumbled. 

“Of course, why would I ever want to leave you?” Neville squeezed Harry trying to convey his urgency through touch. 

“I don’t know, it was just a thought that I had.” 

Neville let his arms go loose around Harry’s waist, grabbed his face, and tilted it up. Harry’s usual bright eyes were clouded with worry. Neville brushed Harry’s hair to the side and planted a tender kiss on his forehead. 

That was all that Harry seemed to need. 

\---  


Neville was startled awake from the snap of his curtains. Harry came in view as Neville groggily opened his eyes. He elbowed Neville aside as he joined him in bed. As Neville made more space for Harry, Harry seized Neville’s pillow burying his face into it. 

Neville made himself more comfortable by wrapping an arm around Harry and gave into his drowsy state. It has been a few weeks since the incident, and almost all the alphas involved were apprehended. Some were more tight-lipped than others, but the Aurors were able to break through with threats of time in Azkaban. 

During that time Harry seemed to develop a need for Neville to scent him. In the morning, oftentimes like now, Harry would wake up early just to go back to sleep in Neville’s bed. Harry even began wearing Neville’s old clothes. The considerable size engulfing Harry’s meager stature. 

Confronting Harry on his new behavior led Neville to discover that Harry cursed his new scent. The tangy smell of citrus reminded him of his attacker and very much preferred Neville’s calming scent. Neville was thrilled to help Harry out, even starting to cycle clothes, where he would wear it first and then give it to Harry.

A yawn came from outside the enclosed space of the four-poster bed, signaling Neville that Dean had probably just woke up. They only had a few more minutes to lay together, before Ron got up to wake Harry. 

Neville gently shook Harry awake, “Come it’s time to get up.” Harry only groaned in response, rolling away from Neville.

Neville sighed as he slicked his bed hair back, and prepared himself to get ready for school. Ron walked out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. Ron walked to Neville’s bed, grabbing Harry and forcibly dragging him out.

“Mate, you’re going to be late.” Harry huffed in response, finally getting to his feet. 

When they were finally ready to leave, Harry hooked his arm with Neville’s and leaned into him. Ron and Harry were making small chat as Neville escorted Harry to his first class. Harry gave Neville a small peck on the cheek and walked into his first class of the day. 

\---

Neville was chatting in the common room with Seamus when Harry apprehensively approached him. The green omega bit his lips worryingly, giving Neville a, ‘can I speak to you look’. Neville excused himself and escorted Harry towards their room.

Once in the safety of their room, Harry gulped clearly trying to find his voice. It was uncharacteristic of him to seem nervous about anything, it was typically Neville in that position. Harry looked quite adorable with his flushed cheeks and curious eyes. A dopey grin grew on Neville's face, feeling lucky that this was his omega. 

“I’m going to have my heat by the end of this month.” Neville’s eyes widened and he was immediately pulled out of his daydream. 

Harry’s gaze was downward and his pursed lips gave him a look of uncertainty. 

“Madam Pomfrey said we might have some difficulties since you’re not..” Harry gulped, not meeting Neville’s eyes. “A- anyways I was just wondering if you wanted to give it a shot.”

Neville smiled at Harry, looping his arms around the omega’s dainty waist, “I would love to.”

Harry let out a small sigh of relief and dropped his head onto Neville’s sturdy shoulders.

\---

The weeks before Harry’s future heat were tense. The day that Harry proposed Neville to spend his heat with him, Neville spent the entirety of the weekend mentally preparing himself. He had Hermione accompany him to the library, to help him research preheat omega symptoms.

Neville wanted to be as accommodating as possible, Harry had spent two heats alone before. He wanted to make their first experience together as smooth as it could possibly be. His top priority was to make sure that Harry was as comfortable as possible. 

Nearing the end of the month, Harry started to get rather clingy. If anyone asked Neville who he thought was the clingy one in the relationship, he would’ve said himself. He tended to always hover around Harry, and continually encouraged casual touches. Besides the now regular morning snuggles and used shirt exchange. Harry started making Neville personally scent him in the morning before they left for classes. 

He could tell Harry’s heat was coming soon, he was starting to become more sluggish. He was drowsy during breakfast and was given several warnings for falling asleep during class. Hermione and Ron kept an eye on Harry for Neville, Harry only growing irritated at their insistence to escort him everywhere.

Neville only seemed to feed the flame to Harry’s annoyance, Whenever Harry made a particularly rude remark, Neville only brushed them off knowing that part of his symptoms. Harry seemed to be dying for a fight. 

It seemed like Harry couldn’t stand Neville and couldn’t stand to be without him. He would make comments about needing space, and then Harry would be dragging Neville into his bed to cuddle during their shared free period. 

Neville only grew more agitated throughout the week, Harry was clearly showing signs of his heat coming up. Hermione always throwing worried glances at Harry's way. Neville wanted Harry to stay at the school’s heat rooms. But during one of their Honeydukes dates he told Neville about his claustrophobia, Harry wanted to spend the least amount of time in the small room as possible. 

Neville was sitting in Professor Mcgonagall’s transfiguration class. She was in the middle of a lecture explaining the in-depth history of the concept when Hermione burst into the class. She shot McGonagall a knowing look, and asked for Neville’s presence, Neville quickly gathered his things and left for the infirmary. 

Neville rushed into the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey guiding him to the heat rooms. Neville took a deep breath in and shakily grabbed the handle. 

As soon as he entered the room he was hit with an intense smell of citrus and vanilla. A low whine came from a bundled figure in the middle of a makeshift nest. 

“Harry…” 

The figure looked at him, the blankets falling off revealing Harry underneath. His pupils were blown, almost engulfing the green color. His breathing was labored and he was trembling. 

“Neville, help.” 

Neville was at his side at a moment’s notice, taking his cloak off and carefully entering the meticulously laid out nest. Harry pounced on him, taking in a deep breath of the alpha’s scent. Neville cupped Harry’s cheeks and gave him a quick peck. 

Harry whined eagerly and helped Neville dispose of his clothes. Neville captured Harry in his arms and looked at his omega. Instead of the expected look of longing, Harry’s face was contorted in disgust. 

“Smell… gross.” 

Neville halted in place, Harry’s words were loud and clear. He couldn’t feel himself controlling his own body. He was in the nest with Harry and the next moment he could remember was walking out of the infirmary, with Hermione’s confused shouts in the background. 

\---

Harry gazed at himself in the mirror, giving himself a proper look over since he initially started his heat. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was more messed up than usual. He grumbled to himself trying to comb down some of the cowlicks that were sticking out. Irritated that despite his attempts they were going to stay there. 

His heat had officially ended, with his mind no longer in the crazed mating frenzy. He gulped as he remembered the start of it. He was brewing a potion with Ron and fainted when he went to grab the ingredients. The next thing Harry knew Neville was standing at the edge of his nest. 

He was comforted by the fact that Neville came to help him, but his inner omega howled that this wasn’t his alpha. He said something stupid that broken Neville’s heart, and he had to face the rest of his heat alone. He was tormented during the rest of his heat, waiting for it to finally be over so he could talk to Neville. 

It was now that moment. 

Harry exited the infirmary, thanking Madam Pomfrey before he left. He took the fastest shortcut he knew to the Gryffindor tower. The portrait of the fat lady greeted him as she swung open to let him in. 

He braced himself as he walked up the steps to their shared dormitory. He cracked open the door and was instantaneously greeted by an extremely sour scent. Harry stepped in carefully, his nose wrinkling at the heavy smell. 

All the curtains to the beds were open except for one, Neville’s. As he walked closer he could hear the sound of quiet sniffles. Harry gently opened the curtains to Neville’s bed, the bitter scent was even close. 

“Neville.” 

Harry sat down on the edge of the bed as the sound of sniffling subsided. He gently pulled down the covers. Neville’s eyes were red, with large tears spilling down his face.

He opened up the blankets and slid under the covers with Neville. Harry sighed as he pat Neville’s messy bed head down. Harry stared at Neville contemplating if he should say anything. The alpha wasn’t outright ignoring him but he wasn’t saying anything either. 

He was given his answer when Neville pushed him down and placed his nose in the crook of his neck. Harry brushed his hands through Neville’s short choppy hair. 

“Sorry.” 

Harry involuntarily flinched when Neville let out a low growl. 

“You shouldn’t have to be sorry.” Neville finally spoke. “I know you can’t help it, but it still hurts.” 

“Do you still want to date me?” 

Neville tensed, raising his head out of Harry’s neck making eye contact for the first time since Harry had entered the room. Neville’s soft brown eyes were filled with anger, a look that Harry wasn’t used to having pointed his way.

“Why would I ever want to leave you because of this?” 

Harry smiled, feeling grateful for Neville’s loyalty. “I won’t be able to spend my heats with you until this stupid claim mark heals. You’re popular Nev, you could be with any other omega right now.” 

“I waited for my entire childhood to be with you. I’m not letting you go so easily.” Neville draped his arms around Harry, giving him a reassuring squeeze. 

Harry felt his heart soar and pressed a kiss against Neville’s forehead. 

Neville grinned back at him. 

  
\---  


_ 10 years later…  _

Neville patiently awaited the Hogwarts train, with his family. He wanted to see his kids off on the train before he apparated to the school.

His smile grew when he heard his two children groaning over Harry fussing over them. Neville walked over and placed his arm over the small of Harry’s back. 

Harry’s scared gland peaked out from underneath his shirt. The old claim mark from school had faded away with time, with Neville’s adorning over it. 

“Don’t push yourself too much love.”

Harry gave him a playful shove, his obviously pregnant belly sticking out. Neville leaned down and kissed the famous lightning bolt scar.

“Dad, stop being gross. All our friends are here!” James cried out. 

Harry and Neville gave each other a knowing look and chuckled.

“I’ll miss seeing you around Hogwarts.” 

Harry cheekily grinned at him, “Don’t worry you’ll be dealing with me next semester, hopefully.” 

The ring of a whistle indicated that the Hogwarts Express was approaching. At that moment Neville has felt more proud of anything that he accomplished. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a wrap! I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Sorry this chapter came out SUPER late, school started back up again and I've been drenched in work and learning how to do courses online. As always any grammatical errors or misspelling tell me in the comments and I'll fix it. 


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